Wednesday, July 24, 2013

I Was Bowled Over with Freaking Emotion, People.

Several people already know what I am about to type out, but it's just so fantastic that I feel like it needs its very own post.

Two weeks ago I woke up with a calm and quiet heart.  I drove up to Monte Sano State Park and sat at the scenic overlook.  I prayed and reflected and praised God for all he'd chosen to show me in the last year.  I did these things because it was the six month mark of my boyfriend's passing.

Before I left my house that morning I decided to grab the handful of letters I have from Richard.  I rifled through the box I keep them in, grabbed them and left.  After my quiet time at the overlook, I came home and began my day.  I was packing to go to Tuscaloosa for an entire week, leaving later that day.  So I would pack some, fold laundry some, work some, clean some etc.  At some point I decided to put my box of keepsakes back on the shelf.  In the midst of trying to find Richard's letters earlier that morning, I had pulled out several pictures, one of which was a photo booth strip that we had gotten back in November.  As I was putting everything back in the box something on the photo booth strip caught my eye.  In red print, at the bottom of the strip, read the words "Use the below code to log in to see your pictures and video."

LAKDHFLADJFLAKDFJALKDFJADS;FAJDSFLKAHDGFLAKDJSF

VIDEO?!?!?!

I started mumbling to myself and scrounging for my computer to type in the website that was listed.  The wheels in my mind were turning as I thought that I was going to be PO'd if it was just like a slide show of the pictures.  And then I finally log in and OF COURSE I HAVE TO PAY FOR THE VIDEO.  Best $2.49 I've ever spent.

And then I got to watch the video I was hoping for.  A video of us in the booth, interacting with each other, figuring out our poses for each picture, not saying a whole lot but laughing together.  It was perfect.  It immediately sent me into a frenzy of emotions.  I literally laid on my unmade bed and laughed.  Then cried.  Then laughed.  Then sobbed.  Of course after I pulled myself together I posted that sucker on facebook so others could share in my joy.

I was so in awe that God allowed me to notice this particular message on the 6 month mark of Richard's passing.  I know some of you may not agree that this was the Lord's doing.  But it was.  It so was!  I don't believe a lick in coincidences because coincidences are just not fun.  Where is the romance, the hope, the intrigue in just a coincidence?  But to think that the Lord decided to give me a nudge of encouragement and the special gift of seeing Richard alive and well on that specific day.  I was bowled over with freaking emotion, people.  That photo booth strip had been on my fridge for MONTHS up until recently.  I looked at it all the time and never once noticed that print.  Sure, I'm unobservant, but I believe it goes much deeper than that.  I was blind to it until God was ready to reveal it.

Friends - I urge you to take a look at the "coincidences" in your life.  Take a step back and spend some time seeing how your life has unfolded.  I hope you know, or will someday come to know if you're not quite there yet, that there is a divine intervention happening in each of your lives.  Of course half the time it doesn't make sense as it is happening...but it will.  A loving God is fighting for your heart and your soul and your attention and he is going to great lengths to make you see him.  Even people that have the deepest of faiths are human and get distracted and put God on the back burner.  So he uses something as simple as red text on a photo booth strip to bring us back to Him.

Open your eyes and hearts and minds.  Don't be afraid to believe in something that you can't always see.  That's what faith is all about. 

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. - Hebrews 11:1


3 comments:

  1. He fights for us, truly! Thanks for sharing Katie!

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  2. Rich liked to talk about photography -- and if I could not figure out a way to change the subject or get away -- I would listen. BTW - those pics on his site are of my family's dogs. Here's what I woulda said to him about that photobooth session: Always check for things hanging from your nose -- but only after the 1st picture is taken. You shoulda kissed her, dummy... Next time kiss her... dummy. I don't think you should make that one face again. Sorry, I know you can't help yourself - you really can't. Oh, that one was much, much better (with sarcasm). Well, you made it through that without getting belted one - good for you, Rich. And you? You looked absolutely great all the way thru Katie :) Thanks!

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  3. Katie - So wonderful to see you both like this laughing! Jimmy (DeCatsye) and I watched it together and it made us laugh out loud! Missing Rich and thinking of you often. Thank you for sharing and thank God for making it all happen.

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